Baldimore Research Institute.
The moment Rowan appeared, he froze for a second and looked around at this small patch of land whose technology was supposedly five hundred years ahead of the world.
Why hadn't he teleported directly inside?
The Flying Thunder God marker should have been beside Dragon, yet the Flying Thunder God Technique had only brought him outside the institute.
"Please look at the screen for iris verification."
"Welcome, Mr. Spark."
The institute's doors opened automatically.
After entering, an electric platform carried Rowan upward.
Along the way, voice prompts introduced the various research divisions and the authorization levels required to enter them.
After reaching the top floor and passing another series of identity verification procedures and technological security measures, Rowan finally entered the top-floor conference room.
Dragon, Vegapunk, and Quinn were already waiting there.
A robot delivered a cup of coffee before quietly departing.
After taking a seat, Rowan looked toward Vegapunk.
Over the past few years, the world's greatest genius had crammed all of Ohara's knowledge into his brain.
That was the power of the Brain-Brain Fruit, but it had also caused his head to grow even larger.
There was no helping it.
After solving the funding issue by robbing the Celestial Dragons' Heavenly Tribute, Vegapunk had finally turned his attention to his own head.
His bizarre idea had resulted in six separate Vegapunks, while simultaneously increasing the institute's research manpower.
The researchers he had trained over the years were now capable of helping him shoulder portions of various projects.
At present, Vegapunk's role was more like that of the chief problem solver.
Once he overcame the major technical obstacles, others could handle the finer details, maximizing overall efficiency.
"Dr. Clover's books from Ohara contained some very interesting discoveries."
Dragon explained briefly.
Vegapunk immediately stood up and faced Rowan.
"Back in Ohara, you said that as long as I joined the Revolutionary Army, you'd do everything possible to satisfy all my needs."
"Does that promise still stand?"
The moment those words came out, Rowan knew trouble was coming.
Over the years, whenever the institute needed some difficult-to-obtain equipment, Vegapunk would always bring up that old promise and lecture him about it.
So Rowan didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he turned to Dragon.
"What does he need this time?"
Before Dragon could answer, Vegapunk suddenly slid across the table.
"Mr. Spark, you took the elevator on your way up, right?"
"Yeah. Why?"
Vegapunk rubbed his hands together excitedly.
"Actually, the elevator was only a compromise."
"My original design was a flying transport device that could bring people directly here."
"Unfortunately... we're short on energy."
A flying machine?
Energy?
Rowan immediately pushed Vegapunk back.
This was a world where a few bottles of cola could power a Coup de Burst. Energy shouldn't be that difficult to obtain.
"Mr. Spark, you seem unconvinced."
Vegapunk became anxious.
"Energy has always been the greatest problem on these seas!"
"If we had sufficient energy, the defensive capabilities of the barrier system could be greatly enhanced."
"And there are flying vehicles, advanced robotics, cybernetic modifications..."
He began rattling off project after project as if he were reciting a menu, talking endlessly without stopping.
After thinking for a moment, Rowan asked:
"So what exactly do you need me to do?"
Vegapunk stood up, walked over to a bookshelf, and pulled out a book.
Opening it, he revealed a sheet of paper tucked inside.
"A gigantic mechanical warrior from eight hundred years ago once directly assaulted Mary Geoise."
"However, because its energy source had been exhausted, it failed to cause significant destruction. Its body was left behind in Mary Geoise, a product of the magnificent technology of the Ancient Kingdom."
With only those two passages, Rowan immediately understood what Vegapunk wanted.
The so-called Great Kingdom from eight hundred years ago possessed technology far beyond that of the present era. That meant the giant soldier's reverse-engineering value was enough to drive Vegapunk crazy with excitement.
The problem was...
Mary Geoise.
"Why couldn't my teleportation ability enter the interior of the research institute just now?"
Instead of agreeing, Rowan asked about the reason he had been blocked earlier.
Vegapunk replied,
"Spatial isolation technology. At the moment, maintaining an isolated space requires perfectly simulating the conditions of the real world inside it, such as gravity and atmospheric composition. Otherwise, the isolated space can't remain stable for long."
Rowan let out a breath.
Was that explanation valuable?
Then again, considering the countless pieces of black technology he remembered, spatial isolation didn't seem impossible.
Rowan knew about the giant robot that had climbed the Red Line and attacked Mary Geoise more than two hundred years ago.
In fact, although Baldimore's current research institute was already far ahead of the outside world, it was still nowhere near the level of the futuristic Egghead Island from his memories.
The Brain-Brain Fruit couldn't turn a fool into a genius.
Nor could it instantly advance technology from the equivalent of an early industrial revolution to the level of Egghead.
The fruit's true ability was simply providing Vegapunk with an enormous information storage system that could be accessed at any time.
The downside was that his brain grew far larger than that of a normal person.
Perhaps the Brain-Brain Fruit had originally been born because some scientist eight hundred years ago had been frustrated by the limits of his own memory capacity.
Nearly four years ago, Rowan had practically forced Vegapunk to leave Ohara and join the Revolutionary Army at Baldimore.
Over the past three-plus years, despite consuming enormous amounts of funding, Vegapunk had provided equally enormous returns.
Bolt-action rifles.
Impact cannons.
New-generation naval artillery.
Those were improvements to the Revolutionary Army's basic military strength.
As for true black technology...
Even after more than three years, research based on Lineage Factors hadn't yet surpassed the Germa modifications from nineteen years later.
Of course, Baldimore's institute permitted research into mechanical weaponry, but cloning research was strictly forbidden.
Therefore...
That giant mechanical soldier, whose entire body embodied the technology of the Great Kingdom from eight hundred years ago, was something they absolutely had to obtain.
But it was in Mary Geoise...
Even Vegapunk's laboratory already possessed spatial isolation technology.
Rowan refused to believe that the World Government, which had ruled the world for eight hundred years while knowing about powers like the Warp-Warp Fruit and the Door-Door Fruit, had no defenses against spatial abilities.
Still, Mary Geoise wasn't necessarily a place where death was guaranteed.
In his memories, Fisher Tiger would climb the Red Line a few years later, free countless slaves, and escape alive.
Nineteen years later, during the Reverie, Sabo and the Revolutionary Army would infiltrate Mary Geoise and even come face-to-face with the Five Elders and Imu.
Looking at it that way...
The operation might actually be feasible.
For example...
That giant from the Giant Race, Morley the Push-Push Fruit user who specialized in tunneling underground.
Bang.
Vegapunk slammed a hand onto the massive book and looked at Dragon and Rowan.
"This robot is anything but ordinary."
"It attacked Mary Geoise two hundred years ago. Although it didn't cause much visible damage, according to Ohara's records, it most likely originated from the Great Kingdom of eight hundred years ago."
Dragon looked puzzled.
"We've already seen that explanation, Doctor."
"However, I do have one question."
After a pause, Dragon asked:
"Something from eight hundred years ago..."
"After six hundred years had already passed, how was it still able to move?"
Vegapunk became visibly excited.
"Now that's the key question."
"After six hundred years had passed, that giant mechanical soldier was still able to climb the Red Line and attack Mary Geoise. The energy system inside its body is exactly what I need most!"
"Right now, many of our research projects are stuck at the energy stage. As for Lineage Factor research, we've already reached the point where we're beginning to replicate abilities."
"We absolutely must obtain that mechanical soldier."
Rowan rubbed his forehead and sighed.
After removing his mask, the face revealed beneath was completely ordinary.
"I understand."
"However, I need to know something."
"If my teleportation ability is blocked the same way it was by this research institute, is there any way to break through it?"
Turning toward Vegapunk, Rowan continued,
"The Doctor should understand very well that if we're going to steal something as enormous as that mechanical soldier from Mary Geoise, the best method would be to use teleportation and transfer it directly to the nearest island beneath the Red Line."
Dragon nodded.
"Mary Geoise is where the Celestial Dragons live."
"There have been plenty of Devil Fruits with abilities similar to Mr. Spark's teleportation over the past eight hundred years, yet Mary Geoise has never suffered a major security breach because of them."
Vegapunk sat back down, looking rather proud.
"The reason this research institute can prevent Mr. Spark's teleportation from directly entering isn't because I've turned the entire facility into ten independent dimensions."
"It's merely ten specialized devices that prevent certain abilities from entering."
"Likewise, such devices couldn't possibly be active across all of Mary Geoise twenty-four hours a day."
"The Celestial Dragons value technology, but their foundation is rule and exploitation."
"In fact, their defensive measures might not even be technological. It could very well be the ability of some Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit user that prevents spatial transfer."
"However, the reason I want Mr. Spark to go there isn't to kill a bunch of Celestial Dragons."
Vegapunk looked directly at Rowan.
That stare made Rowan feel a little awkward.
Mainly because the Celestial Dragons' Sin Value was just too tempting.
There were so many of them gathered in Mary Geoise.
Kill seven or eight of them and who would still care about bicycles?
Maybe next time he could even open a treasure chest and get a Gundam.
Suppressing his wandering thoughts, Rowan reminded himself that individual strength was important, but it wasn't everything.
"As long as Mr. Spark focuses on retrieving the target and doesn't let old grudges cloud his judgment, there shouldn't be any major problems."
Vegapunk glanced at Quinn.
"Why are you shaking?"
"Because I'm excited, Doctor!"
With a dramatic tongue click, Quinn slammed a hand onto the table.
"As long as we obtain a sufficient energy system, our Super Soldier Project can move on to the next stage!"
"If it succeeds, overturning Mary Geoise won't just be a dream anymore!"
"..."
"Overturning Mary Geoise has never been the Revolutionary Army's ultimate objective."
Dragon shook his head slightly.
"What we want is to completely change this world."
"Overthrowing Mary Geoise is merely a step in the process."
"Even after bringing them down, that would only be the beginning."
Then Dragon turned to Vegapunk.
"That said, I'm curious about this project you're talking about."
"Is energy really the only obstacle left?"
Vegapunk replied,
"Not just energy."
"We're also stuck on converting samples for ability replication."
"There's no point explaining the details. If you're interested, read the experiment records."
Dragon's eye twitched.
So basically, he was saying that even if he explained it, Dragon wouldn't understand.
As for the experiment records...
Those things looked like heavenly scriptures.
And they were thicker than the giant Ohara volumes stacked on the table.
There was no chance he could understand them.
"Haa..."
Rowan stood up.
"So the research institute's request is this mechanical soldier, right?"
"I'll find an opportunity to make a trip."
"However, there aren't any of my markers on Mary Geoise, so it may take some time."
Vegapunk also stood up.
After a moment's hesitation, he added:
"Gold."
"The Revolutionary Army needs to start stockpiling gold."
"We can no longer continue converting gold into Beli the way we did before."
"That approach can't continue."
"Gold?"
Including Rowan, all three men turned to look at Vegapunk simultaneously.
However, Vegapunk suddenly froze in place.
For nearly thirty seconds, he remained motionless before his eyes regained focus. Then he sighed and pointed at his now-smaller head.
"Because my skull could no longer support the weight of my brain, I had no choice but to divide my brain and split myself into six separate individuals."
"But the processors are still too primitive."
"Even a simple information retrieval request from one of my divided selves takes thirty seconds."
"By the time that process finishes, I may have already forgotten the inspiration that originally occurred to me."
Returning to the topic, Vegapunk continued:
"The Tree of Knowledge in Ohara existed for several thousand years."
"The knowledge stored within it is the true wealth of this world."
"Even the scholars of Ohara probably never managed to read all of those books."
"Gold is the key to the future."
"In the distant past, gods descended from the heavens and brought light to the world."
"And those gods required gold."
"Gods?"
Dragon and Rowan both frowned.
Seeing their reactions, Vegapunk continued:
"Not literal gods."
"To the people of ancient times, even a torch might have been considered divine."
"Obtaining fire was extremely difficult in the earliest stages of human civilization."
"However..."
Vegapunk's expression gradually became serious.
"The term 'god' is merely a product of ignorance."
"But in my hometown of Baldimore, there was once a scientist named Dr. Tsukimi."
"The fragments of information he left behind point to the origin of those so-called gods being the Moon."
"The Moon?!"
"The one in the sky?"
Dragon and Quinn were both stunned.
Quinn even wondered whether the moon Vegapunk was talking about was literally the one hanging overhead.
Only Rowan silently sat back down in his chair, deep in thought.
Dr. Tsukimi...
The only memory he had associated with that name was an old man who had been startled while eating a mooncake and ended up choking to death on it.
A ridiculous yet somehow fitting way to die.
After all, the old man had looked like he was already on his last legs.
But none of that was important.
What mattered was the information about the Moon People.
Did the technology of the Great Kingdom eight hundred years ago originate from the technology left behind by the Moon People?
The Moon People's technology had been highly advanced, but because of a shortage of gold resources, they had migrated to this planet.
So was the concept of limitless energy connected to gold?
And then there was another detail...
The Golden City of Shandora.
According to the Sea Circle Calendar, Shandora had existed nearly eleven hundred years ago.
Its destruction had occurred precisely eight hundred years ago, during the Void Century.
Whenever the word gold was mentioned, Shandora was the first place that came to mind.
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